Deming, Judson Keith, Genealogy of the Descendants of John Deming
of Wethersfield, Connecticut with
Historical Notes.Reproduced from
the original edition: Quintin Publications (www.quintinpublications.com) 22 Delta
Drive, Pawtucket, RI02860-4555.

Genealogy
of the Descendants of John Deming

of Wethersfield, Connecticut

with
Historical Notes

Compiled
and Edited by

Judson
Keith Deming

Dubuque, Iowa

Press of

Mathis-Mets Co.

Dubuque, Iowa

1904

Page VII and VIII:

Origin of the name
Deming.

During the early part of the seventeenth
century, in New England, the names Deming, Demmon, Demon, Deman,
Dement, Deminge, Demyng, and other variations, appear to have been applied to
persons descended from the same ancestor.These names were given, however, to families originating from more than
one American source.By far the greater
number were descendants of John Deming of Wethersfield; others were from Thomas
Deman of Hartford, and in the alter records the names are given to descendants
of the Damon family of Scituate, and other towns in Eastern Massachusetts.There was also a Thomas Demond of Fairfield, and a John Demmon of Killingsworth, Conn.All of these men appear to
have been contemporaries, but no relationship has been established.In spite of the fact that they were among the
earliest settlers, and that they bore names which were spelled similarly, no
record has been found showing the arrival of any one of them in America, nor do the shipping lists thus far examined,
reveal any name which can be traced to them.To attempt a search among the English records, without any idea of
locality, seemed an endless, and doubtful task, but a careful examination has
been made of the published records of many English churches, and in or case has
there been found the name Deming, nor any name which appears to be a variation
of the name Deming.

After careful consideration of all facts, the
compiler has reached the conclusion that the name Deming is a corruption of
some other generic names.

It is noticeable that, during the past three
hundred years, the name which has been most often changed to Deming, is the
name Damon.There are today in this
country many families who spell their name Deming or Demming or Demmon, whose
ancestry can be traced to the Damon families which first settled in Eastern Massachusetts.If
then, the name Damon (or Dammon, as it is frequently spelled) is the generic
name of an English family, the theory is not unreasonable that John Deming of Wethersfield, and perhaps others of his name were
descendants of the Dammon family, whose names had been changed before they came
to this country.

The Damon Memorial published in 1882, relates
the origin of that name, and gives extracts from the parish records of English
towns, including St. Giles’ church, Reading, where among many entries of births
and deaths of persons named Damon, and Dammon, there appears the name of Demen,
evidently a corruption of Damon, and another evidence in support of the theory
advanced, that the Deming’s of America are descendants of the Dammon’s of
England.

According to authorities given in the Damon
Memorial, the name Damon or Dammon is in itself a corruption of the name
D’Hammond, so that, if our theory is correct, we many trace the origin of the
Deming family in the family D’Hammond, “an ancient and illustrious family which
has flourished in Surrey, and Buckinghamshire in England, and at Blois, and
Cherbourg in France.”A further account
of this family, and copies of coats-of-arms of different branches, are to be
found in the Damon Memorial.

“No authentic coat-of-arms of the Deming family
has been discovered, although specimens of heraldic designs are preserved in
some branches of the family, among these the most notable being an old
book-plate in the family of Capt. John Deming (No. 157) of Hartford, which has been used as a frontispiece to this
work.Nothing is known of its origin, or
the significance of its design.

Peter Deming spent the greater part of his life
on the farm which was formerly owned by his father.At his death his estate was appraised at over
$4500.00.In 1758 from May 30 to Nov 5,
he served as corporal in Maj. Joseph Griswold’s Co. in the French War[2].He
appears also to have served in the Revolution in Col. Morris’ Graham’s Reg[3].

(9)JONATHAN
DEMING, (son of John 2) born 12 Feb 1663 in Wethersfield, Conn.; died
between the years 1719 and 1726; married 27 Oct 1687 in Wethersfield MARHA
BUCK, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Churchill) Buck; born 15 Oct 1667.

Jonathan Deming appears frequently
upon the land records of Wethersfield, but aside from transfers of land, little is to be found which
throws any light upon his life.The date
of his death has not been found, nor nay record of the distributions of his
estate, but on Apr 3 1726 his widow Martha joins with his son Isaac in a
deed of land inherited from him[10].Nov 11,
1719 he divided by deed
to his sons,

Page 17, continued from page 16:

some
of his property, including his home-lot which went to Isaac and Gideon[11].This
would indicate that he died soon after, and no later transfer appears to have
been made by him.His wife was admitted
to the Church in Wethersfield28 Aug 1696[12] but the date of her death has not been
discovered.The names of his children
are from the Wethersfield records, with the exception of Grace, whose
name is included in the list prepared by Talcott.There has been found no proof of the
marriages of his daughters, but it is probably that his daughter Anna married 20 Mar 1712 Nathaniel Wright of Wethersfield.His
daughter Martha may have been that one who married 13 Mar 1757[13] Joshua Stoddard, and died 22 Sep 1771.

An Abigail Deming married 27 June,
1716 Samuel Beaumont[14], and may have been Jonathan’s daughter.

CHILDREN BORN IN WETHERSFIELD, CONN:

29ISAAC, b. 26 Jul 1688.

ANNA,
b. 30 Sep 1690.

30NOADIAH,
b. 20 Feb 1693.

ABIGAIL,
b. 14 Mar 1695.

(31) GIDEON, b. 29 Feb 1700.

MARTHA,
b. 30 Aug 1704.

GRACE,
b.

Page 9:

(2)JOHN DEMING, (son of John 1) born 9 Sep
1638 in Wethersfield, Conn., died 23 Jan 1712 in Wethersfield; married 12 Dec
1657[15] in Northampton, Mass., MARY MYGATT, daughter of
Joseph, and Ann Mygatt, born about 1637[16].

According to Savage, John Deming Jr. was born in
1638, but the authority for this statement is not given.Hinman says that he was born in 1632, and if
this earlier date is correct, he must have been born before his father moved to Wethersfield.To
distinguish him from his father upon the early records of the town, he is call
“Sergeant John Deming,” this title indicating that he may have taken part in
the Indian wars of the period.In 1662
he became one of the selectmen of the town, and was Representative from Wethersfield to the General court from 1669 to 1672.In 1694, he and his wife appear among the
members of the church at Wethersfield.His son John probably
remained with his father on the home farm, while the other sons scattered, and
their records are only partly found.Joseph probably moved

Page 10, continued from page 9:

to Woodstock, Hezekiah went to Farmington, and Jacob to Hartford, while Jonathan lived in the vicinity of Wethersfield.Of
Samuel no trace can be found, and it is supposed that he either died young, or
moved to a distance.The fate of his
daughters Mary and Sarah has not been discovered.Feb 16 1712, shortly after his death, his
sons John, Joseph, Jonathan, and Hezekiah deed to each other, lands and other
property possessed by each of them at the death of “our natural father Mr. John
Deming.”This indicates that Jacob and
Samuel were not living at that time.

According to one authority, Sergt[17]. John Deming was a “packer” in 1692.As he inherited his father’s tools a few
years later it is possible that this was also his father’s trade.His brother David, to whom his father first
bequeathed his tools, (and later withdrew the gift) is described as a “knacker,”
which is defined as a maker of small work, or a rope-maker.Perhaps both John and David followed the
trade of their father, and the copyist has mistaken the work “knacker” for
“packer.”

CHILDREN BORN IN WETHERSFIELD, CONN:

7JOHN,
b. 9 Sep 1658.

8JOSEPH,
b. 1 Jun 1661.

(9)JONATHAN, b. 12 Feb 1663.

MARY,
b. 1 Jul 1666.

SAMUEL,
b. 25 Aug 1668.

10 JACOB, b. 26 Aug 1670.

SARAH,
b. 17 Jan 1672.

HEZEKIAH,
b.1680.

Page 3:

(1)JOHN DEMING, the immigrant ancestor of
most of the persons bearing his family name, was one of the early settlers of
Wethersfield, Connecticut, where he recorded his homestead in 1641, as a house,
a born, and five acres of land, bounded by High Street, west, the Great Meadow,
east, Thomas Standishe’s homestead, north, and Richard Crabbe’s homestead,
south.The dates of his birth, marriage
and death, have never been discovered.His wife was HONOR TREAT, daughter of Richard Treat, whose second wife
Alice Gaylord, was (may have been, scratched out and was inserted) her mother.It has not been proven that Honor was his
first wife, nor that she was the mother of all of his children, although it is
probable.In his will of 13 Feb 1668,
Richard Treat makes the following bequest:“Item:My debts being paid, I
give to my loving sons John Demon, and Robert Webster, equally, all the rest of
my goods and chattels whatsoever, except Mr. Perkins book, which I give to my
son John Demon, and my great bible to my daughter Honor Demon.And that money in my cousin Samuel Welles,
his hand, unto my cousin David Deming, son of John Demon senior[18].”This
obscure clause seems to indicate that there was a John Demon senior, as well as
John Demon the son-in-law, and suggests the possibility that the father of John
Deming of Wethersfield was

Page 4:

also
named John.This is stated as a fact by
Hinman, without giving authority, and the theory is further supported by the
statements of the compiler of the Welles Genealogy, and other genealogists.Treat refers to David Deming as his cousin,
and indicates the same relationship with Samuel Welles, who is presumably the
son of Gov. Thomas Welles, who married Elizabeth Deming, said to have been a
sister of John Deming.It would thus
appear that the Treats, Welles, and Deming’s were connected in some way,
perhaps before their removal to America.This is
the only clew [sic] to the parentage of John Deming, and may ultimately lead to
its final discovery.

It has been stated by some
genealogists that John Deming was among the very first settlers of Wethersfield in 1635, and such is probably the case, but the
proof is lacking.His first appearance
upon the public records of the colony, after recording his homestead, was in
1642, March 2nd, when he was one of the jury of the “particular
court.”In 1645, Dec 1st, he
appears among the deputies as Jo. Demon, and in 1656 as John Dement, when as a
deputy, he is appointed one of a committee, “to give the best safe advice they
can to the Indians.”In 1657, May 21st,
he appears as a deputy to the General Court, as John Deming, and the following
year as John Dement.He was a deputy at
various courts until 1667, under various names, the name Deming prevailing at
the last.He was also a litigant in
several lawsuits.He is one of those
named in the famous charter of Connecticut, in which King Charles granted to them and to
those who should afterwards become associated with them, the lands of the Connecticut, “in free and common socage,” and established a
colonial government with unusual privileges.

Across the river from Wethersfield, and within its boundaries, lay the “Naubuc
Farms,” afterwards incorporated

Page 5:

into
the town of Glastonbury.Here
among the first to obtain a lot, was John Deming in the year 1640, his name
appearing as John Demion[19].It is
not at all likely that he ever lived here, for he had a house in Wethersfield the following year, and he sold the land on the
east side of the river to Samuel Wyllis before 1668.He also owned land in Eastbury, for which he
was taxed in 1673.In 1669 he is listed
among the freemen of Wethersfield, as John Deming Senior, together with John Deming Junior, and
Jonathan Deming.He bought considerable
land in Wethersfield at various times, some of which he gave to his
sons before he died.The actual date of
his death has never been discovered.He
signed a codicil to his will Feb 3, 1692, and this is the last recorded act of his life.
When the public lands were allotted to the inhabitants in 1695, he did not draw
a portion[20].It is
probable that he died soon after 1692, although his will was not proved until 21 Nov
1705, and Savage, and
other genealogist have assumed that he lived until that year.

No public record has been found of
the births of the children of John Deming, but their names, as far as known,
have been taken from his will, which is preserved in the Probate Court of
Hartford.

Page 7:

This old will is the one glimpse we
have of the character of John Deming.It
reveals a spirit of piety, of love for his family and his friends, and the
companionship of some of the best men in the colony.It shows that he was a man of substance, well
supplied with lands, and cattle; that he was equipped to work at some trade,
which no doubt proved of service in the little colony when they first settled
so far from the older towns on the coast.We would like to know what that trade was, but the records are silent on
that point.Under the first will, David
was to have the tools of the shop, and David, we know, was a rope-maker; but
under the codicil to the will, these tools went to John Deming Junior, and
whether he continued in his father’s trade or not, we are not informed.At the time this will was written, John
Deming must have been over seventy years old, and we many picture him in his
last days among his children and grandchildren, reading from his old Geneva
bible, or talking with his old friends and neighbors of the trials and
hardships of the early days of the settlement.As his wife is not mentioned in his will, it is probable that she died
first.The church records of Wethersfield show among the members in 1694 “Jon. Deming Jr’s widow.”It is
hard to tell to whom this refers, unless to the widow of John Deming the first
settler, but it is more probable that some other person

Page 8:

is meant.Eunice Standish and her sister Sarah mentioned in the will as cousins,
were daughters of Thos. Standish, whose land adjoined Deming’s.The connection of this family with Capt.
Miles Standish of the Plymouth colony, has not been discovered.It would be interesting to learn how close was the relationship between
the Deming and Standish families.

That John Deming was a prominent man
in the affairs of the Connecticut Colony, cannot be doubted, and his apparent
association by kinship and friendship with those whom we look upon as among the
founders of New England, indicates that he was a man of more than ordinary
intelligence, and possessed of some education.It is to be hoped that future investigation may bring to light more information
than we now have regarding his life in America, and the history of his birth and ancestry in
his mother country.

Trumbull speaks of John Deming as one of the fathers of Connecticut[21], and Hinman says of him, that in 1654 he held
the office of Constable of Wethersfield, an office which proved that he was in
the full confidence of the Governor[22].His
name frequently appears upon the records of the colony with the prefix “Mr.,” a
courtesy paid only to men of some prominence.The same authority states that he was a representative at fifty sessions
of the General Court, while in Hollister’s roll of deputies, he is credited
with nineteen sessions[23].It is
certain that he bore his full share in the upbuilding of the colony, serving
his country as the opportunity presented itself, and setting an example of good
citizenship, which as born fruit in the loyalty and patriotism of many of his
descendants during many generations.